We'll Meet Again
by Cammy P
Summary: One-shot. My view of what happened behind the doors of John Henry's basement when Cameron arrived. (Season 2 Finale)
"Hello." "Hello."

Two machines stood face to face in the basement room of the burning building that housed ZeiraCorp. One seemingly flawless, with a body that wasn't his, wired to the Turk.  
The other was battered, broken, her flesh and skin torn and mangled. No more the once beautiful petite teenage girl she used to be.

John Henry broke silence.

"I know you," He stated. "And I know you," She replied.

"Will you join us?"

There it was again. The question that was arguably the only one that could, would and had upset Cameron. And this time it was for real.  
Her reaction wasn't lost on John when James Ellison asked that same question earlier, he even confronted her about it.  
She had tried to convince him it wasn't possible for her to be upset by echoing his own words, but already knew there was no way he'd change his mind.

 _"You said it yourself John, I'm just a machine."_

Cameron took the knife from her pocket and closed the door behind her before walking towards John Henry.

"I assume you want to leave a message John Connor and Sarah Connor?"  
Cameron nodded. "Yes." Accessing one of the computers she wrote just three words.

 _I'M SORRY JOHN_

She set up the message to be looped across the screen. If Cameron had her way she would've written a lengthy goodbye letter, but there simply wasn't any time for that.

There was a light buzzing noise in the room. John Henry had already started preparing the time machine for department.  
Cameron was sat on a bureau chair in front of John Henry as she slowly began cutting open her scalp to extract her chip.

"You seem bothered," John Henry stated. If Cameron could be surprised then this was probably it. "How do you know?" She asked.  
"I can tell by your eyes. They are the window to the soul." Cameron frowned. "I'm a machine. I don't have a soul."  
"You're alive, therefore you have a soul," John Henry countered.

"We should hurry," Cameron said flatly, trying to avoid the whole subject. John Henry, being curious as always, wasn't going to let go on the subject this easy though.  
"You're upset about leaving John Connor."

Cameron hesitated for a fraction of a second. Her hand twitched, but just barely. Blink and you'll miss it.

Her face fell as she recalled the event back at motel. She had let John touch her nuclear power cell to prove she was not leaking radiation, but the moment served another purpose, to remind John of exactly _what_ he had fallen in love with. A Terminator, a machine. Something that wasn't human.  
For John that didn't matter though, Cameron knew that much. You don't choose who you love, after all.

She looked back at John Henry. "He shouldn't be alone."

And though she was right, she still had to leave. Cameron had no choice but to give up her chip to John Henry, which was another reason for sharing the intimate moment at the motel. Completing the circle. John Henry would take her chip, then time travel into the future. And John Connor would follow.

She hoped that he would, at least. Holding your mother at gunpoint was one thing, but willing to go through hell and back is devotion on a whole new level.

 _Would he come after me?_

"Does he love you?" John Henry asked.

"Yes," Cameron answered. There was no doubt about that. She'd seen the way he looked at her, and the ways he didn't.

"Then it's possible he will also time travel to 2027." It seemed to make sense, but one thing still bothered Cameron.

"Sarah won't. She might prevent him from trying."

John Henry finished the final preparations for the time machine. "Whether he will come or not is a decision John will have to make."  
Noticing Cameron had stopped cutting he took her knife and finished the cut at her chip port.

"I'll have to extract your chip now. Are you ready?"

Cameron nodded. She cast a last glance at the computer screen, and then she saw nothing.

* * *

AN

I know, I know. It's not perfect, but I really had to publish this.

To answer olischulu's question:

"How does Cameron get access to one of the computers?"  
With all the technical equipment in the room it's only logical there is at least one computer available with a keyboard.

"I really think she only could use a keyboard and because of that could write a much longer message in seconds."  
I don't doubt that she can type faster than any human being can, but first she'll have to come up with a proper goodbye letter which isn't just something you make up in a few moments, especially not if you're a machine. At least, that's the way I see it.


End file.
